KISS hires Army vet to be a roadie for 2012 tour

Army vet Paul Jordan of Buford, Ga., left, appears with KISS bassist Gene Simmons in this screen grab from the Today Show.

There’s the U.S. Army and there’s the KISS Army.

One is a branch of the United States military while the other is the fan club of the legendary rock band that first rose to prominence in the 1970s.

A veteran of both armies, Paul Jordan can look forward to spending time with the band as a roadie on its 44-city tour with Mötley Crüe.

A lifelong fan, Jordan beat out more than 1,900 other hopefuls who applied for the job as part of the Hiring Our Heroes program. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and NBC News kicked off the initiative in March to help veterans and military spouses find employment.

KISS was one of the organizations that signed up for the program. Bassist and singer Gene Simmons broke the news to Jordan during an appearance on the Today Show on May 23. Jordan served more than 27 21 years in the Army, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan three times.

Jordan, who will be a carpenter on the tour, shared his experience of looking for work during the Today Show appearance:

“Since I retired, I’ve had a really hard time trying to find a job,” Paul told the Today anchors. “It’s tough for veterans out there sometimes.” He called the KISS roadie job a “dream come true. I’ve always wanted to be involved with KISS somehow … This is incredible!”

The goal of Hiring Our Heroes is to have the business community commit to hiring 500,000 veterans by the end of 2014. To date, the campaign has received more than 181,000 commitments.

A fan since the age of 4, Jordan shows off his tattoo of Gene Simmons as "The Demon" in a screen grab taken from his appearance on the Today Show.